Excuses
by IrisTheFlower
Summary: Claire Hawthorne was always a girl who valued her health. Until she met Dr. Trent who worked at the school Nurses office. That's when she began to make silly excuses to see her favorite doctor.
1. Shoelace

**HEY GUYS!~**

**...Yea I know, I'm working at two stories now. but I absolutely love Dr. Trent x Claire and also Kai...and Skye :D. Harvest Moon too! Anyways if this idea was already taken...I will mark you as my inspiration :D. Chapter five is almost done for my other story but I came up with this idea a few days ago~**

**I love this one :D I feel so great about it! Hopefully this story is going to be short, six chapters at the most. **

**Oh yea before I go on,**

**NO LEMONS. NO. This rating will forever stay at "T" Mkay? Good.**

**Disclaimer: I DONT OWN HARVEST MOON. Harvest moon fully belongs to the respected owner(s) **

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><p>Ever since she got injured in her physical education class she was always finding an excuse to go to the nurse's office. The idea was silly and improper. But she couldn't help to see the shocked face of the doctor working there in the local nurse's office in her school.<p>

"What did you do this time, Claire?" A sigh escaped from the doctor's lips as he was scanning which part she was hurt.

The blonde giggled. "I tripped and fell," She smiled with her bright blue eyes beaming at him.

"I see no bruises,"

"So? Just because I fell doesn't mean I get bruises all the time," Claire explained crossing her arms against her chest. Dr. Trent raised an eyebrow but then sighed once again.

"What did you trip on?"

"My shoelace," She stated still giving that million watt smile that she always did when she came in here.

"And you didn't notice that your shoe was untied?" The dark haired doctor asked taking a seat on his stool. This was going to be another long lecture how she should always watch her surroundings.

"I don't always look on the ground! Dirt is not that fascinating," She always looked at the ground. This was just probably the twentieth time she has come in here this month. Not that they were counting. She just did this all the time. Dr. Trent didn't see why.

For Claire she never paid attention to the nurse's office. She heard it was like waiting for someone to pick up your call while you were on hold. She always valued her health and kept up her grades at a good but average place. Ever since she actually injured herself she couldn't help but like Dr. Trent.

…No that was wrong. He was way older than her. She never knew his age but the blonde thought it was so kind of him to go through her little excuses to just spend time in here and forget about her classes for once. Why did school matter for her anyways? She was going to become a farmer. Heck she was already working with her father!

"Claire, you do realize that you have-"

"To be careful at all times and watch my surroundings. Yea I know," She cut him off and she already knew the procedure anyways.

Dr. Trent was silent for a moment but then took out a pack of blue slips. "Algebra 2 right? With Mr. Ivan?"

"Yup!" Claire chirped while jumping off the bed. She wasn't surprised how he had already known her classes. At first she just went here to miss her physical education and just made up how she felt nauseas. Dr. Trent would then tell her to exercise daily so she won't feel that way all the time.

Dr. Trent signed the blue slip and handed it to the blonde. She then grasped it into her hands and began to open the white door of the office.

"See you later Dr. Trent!" she sang while exiting. There was then silence in the office. Honestly that blonde had to be more careful.

**-Flashback-**

_"Alright you may begin right about…..now!"_

_A whistle then blew signaling the students to run their monthly mile. She always hated running, especially in the grueling heat. Either way she continued to run, she was determined to get a better time and beat those fast runners._

_Her best mile time was 9:30 and she wanted to beat that time. She was aiming for eight minutes. That also meant very short walk breaks and more running. There were also no water breaks so you had to drink before you ran._

_The blonde inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth repeatedly. She heard breathing through your mouth wouldn't help and through your nose was also bad also. By this time she was almost done with her half mile and then after another half mile she was done and drink loads of water._

_Although her legs were killing her, they felt like jello but she was still determined to beat that darn mile time! She was just darting her eyes to each turn she would make but then, out of the blue, she tripped over a mud puddle that was on the hard concrete. She felt like crying, she couldn't move. Her legs were killing her and her arm felt like it was being cut off._

_"Claire? Oh my goddess, are you okay?" A familiar voice rang out in her ears. Claire moved her head slightly and gazed at the brunette who cared enough to stop._

_"N-no," She squeaked trying to get up. That only pained her more. Some other runners turned their heads to look but didn't stop running. She couldn't blame them._

_"Stay right there, I'll get the coach!" The brunette then ran towards a short cut to get where their coach was._

_Claire wasn't going to cry but she already felt watery beads form in her eyes. She only got up slightly. She might have broken something but it felt like all of her body was immobile. It was only a matter of seconds when the brunette and her coach came by to help. She slowly got up and threw an arm around her friend's neck for support._

_"You can make the mile up another time. For now go to the nurse's office and heal," Her coach said handing her a slip to go._

_"T-thanks," The blonde managed to say but her voice sounded hurt and dry from lack of water._

_The two friends were silent for a little while but the brunette just tried to soothe her with words like 'It's going to be okay' and 'You'll be fine'_

_"Jill, really, you didn't have to do this," Claire said between grunts of pain. Jill on shook her head and shifted her violet eyes toward her friend._

_"Claire, you're my friend! Plus I would do anything to get out of that mile," They both laughed at the last remark until they reached a small white door that was labeled with a blue plaque written "NURSES OFFICE" in big white, bold letters. The two made their way in stopped for a moment to see if anyone was here. Not bothering to wait, Jill gently lay Claire down on a bed and began to search for things to wash off the dry mud on her friend's skin._

_"Do you two girls need help?" A male voice asked looking at the two. Jill was startled at first._

_"Oh, my friend here fell and I was looking for something to get the dry mud off her for starters," The brunette explained pointing to her blonde friend who was slightly sitting up on the small bed._

_"Do you have a pass?" The dark haired doctor asked. Jill was probably prepared for this; she took out her hall pass and showed Dr. Trent. The doctor nodded and proceeded for her to go on. Jill took one washcloth and soaked it with cold water. In the meantime Dr. Trent was asking Claire questions on what happened._

_She was going to go home early and get an X-ray on her legs since the blonde said that's where she was hurting the most. After Jill was done cleaning the dry dirt marks on her friend, she left for her next class and told her friend to get better. Dr. Trent let her call her father to pick her up from school._

_"Thanks," Claire said quietly. Dr. Trent turned to the blond and gave a faint grin. "Don't mention it. Just be careful next time,"_

_Claire smiled and rubbed her head. Did she get mud in her hair also? That was going to be a pain to get out. She was waiting impatiently fort her father. They didn't really live close to the school because their farm was out by a couple miles away. She was grateful for some of her friends to carpool her._

_"Dr. Trent, right?" She asked, not looking at him with her bright blue eyes. Trent nodded and filled out a form that seemed to be a medical note, maybe for her P.E. class and for her not to run until she is fully healed._

_"If you're a doctor, why don't you work in like a hospital or medical office?" She asked hoping this would kill time. The sound of his pen scribbling on the paper stopped._

_"Why do you ask?"_

_"Well it's just weird, y'know?"_

_Dr. Trent sighed and turned to the blonde who was waiting patiently for an answer. "The hospitals and medical offices turned me down. That's when I went to work for a school and just work for students who are injured," he explained looking straight her cerulean blue eyes._

_Claire frowned at him. The world was so tough these days. "Those guys are jerks! Not letting such a great doctor in their building! Geez, people these days," She realized that she overacted a bit and then giggled nervously._

_Dr. Trent chuckled at her outburst. "It's fine, really, I guess a quiet day at an office is good for me instead of a hectic hospital,"_

_The two chattered about things in their life but not going into deep detail and personal things. She was beginning to think that this guy wasn't so bad. Since all the guys her age were jerks. But that thought made her face turn red. She was falling for this doctor already? Her thoughts were stopped when a woman entered the room._

_"Ah Claire, you're father is here," The woman said. Claire then gently got off the small bed and limped towards the door. "Thanks Dr. Trent!" She chirped like she was magically healed._

_"No problem, be careful," He reminded her and the she left. He never knew that almost everyday she would be coming to his office._

**-End Flashback-**

Claire was fully healed and managed to beat her mile time by a couple of seconds. She wasn't the best runner but that didn't matter right now. She bolted towards her next class, the deadly subject, Algebra. How much did she hate that class and math? She despised it, loathed it.

She opened the door and saw Mr. Ivan going through a lecture on equations. Some students looked bored and some were almost falling asleep. There only very few people who were actually taking notes.

"Miss Hawthorne, you may take a seat," Mr. Ivan said stopping his lecture for only a few moments. Claire handed her blue slip to her Algebra teacher and she then headed for the nearest seat.

Of course the front row. _Whatever_, she thought. She placed her backpack under her desk and let her head rest on her right hand. She was listening but it wouldn't kill for her to just watch boredly at the white board that was filled with equations.

A note was then thrown on her desk. She sighed quietly, she didn't want to get in trouble for notes passed around class like in all of those high school movies.

She very quietly opened the note,

_What's up Claire? You've been going to the nurses office a lot lately –Kai_

Kai was her best friend, he was a jerk at times, but she didn't care. She shifted her blue eyes at Mr. Ivan who was busy writing down things on the board she quickly wrote something down below Kai's question.

_You know me! I'm clumsy!_

Luckily he sat right behind her right now so she folded up the note and without turning she handed the note below their desks so their teacher wouldn't see. A few seconds later the same folded paper was thrown on her desk. She folded it open until she was caught.

"Miss Hawthorne? I trust that you're taking notes on this lesson, correct?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Claire smiled nervously at him.

"Y-yes, just getting ready for the next test and all!" She hesitated bowing her head in respect. Mr. Ivan shrugged and continued his lecture until school was done for the day.

The bell rang and everyone bolted out of their seats to go home. Claire turned to Kai while packing her binder in her school bag.

"Sorry about that," Kai apologized while rubbing his head- er Bandana. "No it's fine, but thank you for worrying about me," She gave her warm smile towards her friend and got out of her seat,

The bandana wearing male threw his arm around her neck and suggested, "I know! We can go to my house and I can whip up some shaved ice for us! Since you're getting injured a lot lately,"

Claire's smile grew, "That would be wonderful!"

The day went on nicely, she managed to get all of her homework done at her friend's house and have some of his remarkable cooking. Now she was lying on her bed and looking up at the ceiling.

What would she do tomorrow to get into Dr. Trent's office?

She only giggled at the thought.

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><p><strong>I know what you're thinking. There's going to be ClairexKai in this? NOPE. HAHAHAHA. He shall forever remain Best friends with Claire!<strong>

**Don't you just love clumsy Claire? Well maybe not clumsy but always trying to get in Dr. Trent's office? I think it's awesome. Oh and I'll figure out a better name for Ivan. Gimmie some last names and I'll give you credit~ Also the coach...I haven't decided xD lol. Help me with that too~ YES...I KNOW...CLAIRE HAWTHORNE? TOO BAD. LIVE WITH IT. :3**

**Hopefully Chapter 2 will come soon~**

**For now...R n R!~**


	2. Books

**WHOA. LONG UPDATE. I think you know whats been going on, school. Yup school. But during the time I got inspiration for later chapters :D. Wait, Word doc said this chapter was 10K words and i was like "WOO, LONG CHAPTER 8D -presses the 'that was easy' button-" Until I uploaded this on Doc manager and said it was 2K and when I look at this chapter, I realize its super short D: FFFF- Hopefully next chpater is longer.**

**Me: D:**

**Oh well.**

**Review Responses cause I'm awesome (Its only 3 but I love you guys anyway :D)**

**swingdancer23: Aww thank you :D And your story made me laugh xD. Im terrfied of spiders as well :'D**

**FlamingIceWolfGirl: Thanks :D **

**Anonymous: Wouldn't everyone? ;D**

**ENJOY**

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><p>There was something curious about the blonde. She was never like any popular or anti-social student at her school. She was just normal. A sane girl with average grades, knew some people, and just didn't give a crap for any popularity.<p>

That was Claire. Although every morning she would march out into the small farm fields that her father owned and do most of the job and wait for carpool by her friends.

The blonde literally jumped out of bed, bolted out the door ignoring her father's greeting and headed toward the fields. She didn't care if she was in her PJs. It's like no one was going to see her anyway, besides her father. The sun was barely out, and it was freezing. Trying to ignore, she watered the crops and walked over to the chicken coop where she picked up small white eggs the chickens and ducks lay. Then over at the barn she fed the animals. Her father did most of the work in the barn.

After her work she went back to her small house and quickly got herself ready. She slipped into her school uniform and just made herself some toast with strawberry jam. Claire's father quietly read the newspaper with a warm cup of coffee like he did every morning.

While fixing her white blouse she heard car honking from outside her house. _Oh that must be Jill and the others;_ she thought quickly placing the dishes in her sink.

"By Dad! See ya later!" She called out the door and slamming it behind her. She saw her friends waving at her. Jill, Molly, and Angela were usually the ones carpooling her. Claire still couldn't believe Angela could drive, and still her sister Molly envied her. She was a year younger than Angela though.

"Hey, Claire!" Jill greeted moving over a bit to give the blonde some room. The four chatted on the way to school until Angela turned on the most terrible music.

_Its Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday~_

"Angela turn that terrible music off!" Molly demanded trying to get a hold of the radio.

"I feel like we're summoning the Devil!" Jill complained, covering her pale ears. Angela was dying from laughter at Jill's complaint.

"Oh god…" was only Claire could breathe out. The blonde was spaced out before that music came on. She couldn't think of a single idea to get into Dr. Trent's office. She had to think fast.

'_Trip and fall? No I did that yesterday….Oh! What about-…no'_

She sighed of failure. She couldn't possibly think of anything! She had to go today; she had to think of something!

The small car arrived at the school by the time she was still getting an idea. Claire grabbed her bag and headed off to class. Before that she opened her locker to get her books.

Suddenly, she stood there for a moment, her brain scrambling around to form a great excuse. Well not a great one but stupid enough to get in. Her books hitting her head! This was great! She grabbed her books and hugged it against her chest. She was elated but her state of happiness was ended by walking into someone without noticing. Her books fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Claire frantically asked the stranger. She didn't recognize this student at all. He had long brunette hair with some blonde highlights that was tide up into a small ponytail.

"Y-yea, sorry about that," he managed to say. He rubbed his head gently from the impact. Man, how can she not notice that she was running into a student?

"I'm Claire, what's yours?" She asked out of curiosity. _'He must be a new student, it's better to introduce myself than just walk off,'_ she thought to herself The young man was startled by the sudden intro and then a faint color of pink from embarrassment formed on his cheeks. The blonde giggled quietly at his shyness.

"I—I'm Cliff," He said quietly. The blonde almost couldn't hear him but luckily she was close enough to hear.

"Cliff? That's a nice a name!" She giggled once again. She wished she could say 'Just don't fall off a cliff!' to him, but that would be kind of rude. The warning bell rang for all the students to get to class. She absolutely hated the bell, it literally pierced her ears.

"See ya around Cliff!" she exclaimed heading off to class. She didn't hear what he had to say because of the chattering of students, opening and closing doors, and slams on lockers.

She had history first thing in the morning, not the best to wake up to but she dealt with it.

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><p>Dr. Trent silently filled out paperwork that he had to finish. His assistant, Nurse Elli, came by this morning with a box full of paperwork to sign. He hated this part of his job. His poor hand was already sore from writing. He sighed and looked back into the box that his assistant dropped off, just about a few more pages.<p>

He sighed once again and relaxed on his fabric covered chair. Resting wouldn't hurt, right? Since all the papers were due tomorrow. He just needed enough time to relax and let his hand rest from all of the writing. He closed his eyes and leaned back onto the chair. The sun rays were seeping in through the windows, it was absolutely quiet, and nothing could disturb him!

Suddenly the door slammed open to reveal a blonde rubbing her head with one hand. "DOCTOR TRENT!" She exclaimed rushing over to him frantically. Trent almost fell out of his chair from the surprise entrance.

"What's wrong!" he exclaimed with slight irritation in his tone. Claire sat herself down on the small cot and continued the rubbing on her head.

"I was getting my books out of my locker and they suddenly attacked my head!" She babbled while shifting her blue eyes from place to place. Trent got out of his chair and took the girl's wrist that was rubbing her head, yet again, no bruises. He was getting suspicious about her everyday; all of a sudden she kept on getting injured. Claire blushed lightly from him grabbing her wrist. _'His hand is so warm…if only I could just. No! Bad thoughts Claire! Bad thoughts!'_ She thought.

"Claire, you'll be fine. A simple ice pack will do,"

Trent soon gave her the bag of ice that was supposed to heal her head. Right when it was placed on her small head it was like an instant brain freeze.

"Claire, can I ask you something?"

"Yea sure what is it?" She questioned holding the ice pack from falling of her head. The dark haired doctor wanted to get a straight answer from the girl on why she consisted on being to clumsy all of a sudden. It's not that he wanted to stop her from coming here but just coming everyday would hurt her grades **(A/N: Get it? Not hurt herself but hurt her grades? HAHA...Never mind.)**

"Why are you getting injured all the time?" He asked, moving his brown eyes towards her. Claire sat there like a deer almost getting run over by a truck. Her face flushed because of that question.

"Because I'm clumsy?" She sheepishly answered shifting her cerulean blue eyes away from the doctor.

"You see-"

"Can I go back to class now?" She suddenly cut him off by standing up from the cot. Trent raised an eyebrow at her but understood and grabbed the pack of blue slips for her to get an excused 'tardy'

He knew her schedule by the time March ended. Right now it was the beginning of April and she had to focus on passing this school year or else she would have a frustrating time in senior year next year.

Claire quickly snatched the blue slip and bolted out of the door and ran to her class.

He never understood her, not even women by any chance.

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><p>"And so he keeps smiling at me! I can't but just smile back and-"<p>

"Yea yea Anita, we know you like Mr. Scholar. Can you just shut up now?"

"I do not like Mr. Scholar! I like him as a teacher!"

Claire rubbed her temples from Molly and Anita gossiping about their Algebra 2 teacher, Ivan Scholar. This is what happens at lunch almost every time, so much that her best friend Kai would have to leave from all this 'girl' stuff.

Angela would steal a glance at Gill almost every three seconds. Claire never understood why she liked that blonde, spoiled, rich bastard. Just because he was the son of a former mayor doesn't make him so 'popular' doesn't it?

Jill would be day dreaming of her boyfriend, Rock during their lunch time. He was also a blonde bastard like Gill. The blonde farmer even heard rumors that he was cheating on Jill. And who was this other lucky woman? None other than the stuck up Lumina who was always catching up on latest gossip, fashion, almost every single thing.

It annoyed Claire a lot that her friends would be constantly talking about boys. For Claire she secretly wrote down ideas for her next meeting with Dr. Trent, but this time, she was terrified to go back there. Instead she just ate her lunch not bothering to talk to her boy crazy friends.

Anita and Molly soon calmed down from their argument and made up. Jill didn't even notice because of her day dreaming, Angela didn't bother to look, and Claire just sat there eating.

"Sooo, Clllaaiireee," The blonde instantly shot up from the sudden break of silence. "Who do you like?" Molly continued to question.

Her heart sped up and all of her friends were looking at her, besides Angela and Jill. "No one," Claire said in self defense.

"Hey look Claire's face is red!" Anita exclaimed pointing a finger at her. Angela and Jill instantly came back to reality and stared at their non boy-crazy friend. The blonde was about to object until one of her friends blurted out something in a whisper, "I think she likes Kai, because they're best friends you know?" the rest of her friends snickered.

"I do not Anita!" Claire exclaimed rising from her seat. Some faces turned to her in surprise since her voice echoed through the cafeteria. The other blonde shrunk in her seat while Molly continued to giggle and soon rose from her seat.

"Hey everyone!" The young brunette exclaimed. The cafeteria was completely silent and all faces were turned toward them. The blonde rose from her seat, getting ready to stuff a pack of napkins down her throat if she had to.

"Claire likes-!" Molly was interrupted by Claire shoving napkins down her throat. Almost everyone was laughing at the 'show' that was going on. The rest of the students went back to conversing and eating their lunches while Claire's friends tried to stop her from practically killing Molly.

This was ruining her day by a lot.

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><p>To make her day worse, rain was bombing the town. You would basically call this 'raining cats and dogs'. She decided not to go on carpool with her friends due from lunch, Kai had to leave early for a family vacation, and Claire had no ride home. She was sort of feeling guilty by not going with her friends. She'll apologize to them by E-mail or something.<p>

If Cliff had a ride home, maybe she can come along? No that would be rude since she barely knew him. Her father had two jobs and right he was working.

She sat under a small outside roof to keep herself from getting drenched. She wrapped her arms around her knees to keep herself warm. Her small head rested on her knees and she gazed at the gloomy sky.

"Claire?" The blonde jumped from surprise.

"Dr. Trent?"

"Aren't you supposed to be home?" He asked.

"I don't have a ride home. My friends embarrassed me, my dad's at work, and my friend Kai is off on vacation," She explained not bothering to mention Cliff. She barely knew him anyway.

The dark haired doctor sighed quietly. He was going to regret this decision probably. "I could give you a ride home," He said, scratching his head. Soon the girl's blue eyes brightened. Finally she can go home without a terribly long twenty mile walk while getting drenched! Instead she can be in a warm car.

"Really?" She asked getting up from her position and grabbing her bag. Trent nodded and gave her some room to fit under the umbrella. Claire smiled and her face was slightly red from this.

His car was not one of those fancy new cars but an old beat up one. She didn't mind, as long as she gets home and relax then she'll be fine. She gave directions to her 'farm', that was the only conversation going on. There was complete silence and the girl didn't bother to put on music because she didn't know what he liked, maybe classical?

"How did your friends embarrass you?" The doctor asked, trying to break the silence. It was making him uncomfortable to.

The blonde was silent for a moment, not willing to answer, she just bursted out her answer anyway. "They keep teasing me on how I like someone and they keep asking me who," She explained looking at her window that was covering in raindrops.

'Typical' Trent thought. He didn't want to intrude on who she liked anyway, it's not like he was her dad or something, although he did want to know, just out of curiosity.

"I see," Was all he said. Once again, silence filled the car once they got to her home. Claire unbuckled herself from her seat until Trent spoke up again.

"You live on a farm?'

"Yea, why?"

"No wonder you live far from the school," He chuckled. She couldn't help but giggle as well. She slung the backpack over her shoulders and closed the car door. She waved as she drove away.

Maybe she would go in the nurse's office on Monday, anyway.

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><p><strong>R n R!~<strong>


	3. Panic

**A/N: I apologize for the long update. I'm fangirling over other things :'D Don't worry, I haven't forgot about this one~ We're just about in the halfway point here :D I'm not too fond of this chapter but oh well. It seemed random to me at some parts but, kind of a filler chapter.**

**I started this chapter about a month ago then school was being a bitch. So here I am~ I'm still alive~**

**Thanks so much for the reviews! Much appreciated :D**

**Disclaimer: Harvest Moon does not belong to me.**

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><p>Saturday was when almost everyone slacked off and to enjoy the weekend. For kids it was time to watch cartoons, sleep in, hang out with friends, etc. For teens it was the same but finishing homework at the last minute. For Adults it really depends if you have work or your jobless and you just sit around all day.<p>

Claire still had homework to do but she didn't feel like doing it. She just wanted to slack off and watch cartoons for a few hours and then start doing homework. She sat comfortably on her couch with a cup of milk in her hand watching old-fashioned cartoons. Her father would take care of the farm work that day and the blonde happily got out of bed and sprawled herself on the green leather couch.

All bundled up in blankets and keeping her eyes on the screen of the TV the phone suddenly rang. "….Why does the harvest goddess hate me…" she muttered trying to reach the phone. She soon realized that she had to get out of the comfortable cocoon of blankets she wrapped herself with. She threw off the blankets, ran to the phone and pressed it against her ear.

"Hello?"

"_CLAIRE. OH MY GOD. GET YOUR BUTT HERE RIGHT NOW!"_ Claire jumped at the volume of the person's voice.

"May I ask who this is?" She asked quietly.

"_IT'S ME MOLLY. GET YOUR BUTT AT THE MALL OKAY? LEAVE LIKE RIGHT NOW. BYE!"_ The call suddenly ended and the blonde could have sworn her ears were bleeding from how loud Molly's voice was. She was always a loud mouth. She didn't know what was so exciting about malls these days. She didn't really like shopping as well.

Something hit her head. How was she going to get there? Her dad was busy with the farm and would soon leave for his second job later in the afternoon, so she didn't bother to ask him. Maybe Angela would be kind enough to pick her up. Then yesterday's events came into her mind, she still had to apologize for being rude yesterday. Well, might as well get it over with.

With the phone still in her hand she typed in Angela's numbers and waited for her to pick up. _"Hello?"_

"Hey Angela, it's me Claire,"

"_Oh hello, Claire what's up?"_ Claire always liked how calm her voice was on the phone beside her loud mouthed sister, Molly. How could she even live with her?

"I just want to say I'm sorry for yesterday…"

"_Ah~ Nah we always get worked up on things. Don't worry about it~ is that why you called?"_

"Well yes, and can you pick me up and take me to the mall. I'm curious on what Molly wanted me to see," Claire could hear giggling on the other end of the call. She suddenly had a bad feeling like she was pranked.

"_Haha~ sure. Molly is overreacting though, but I'll pick you up~" _

"Thanks, Ange,"

"_No prob! See ya!" _The call ended and the blonde was happy that she could be so friendly. Yet she acted like a mother to all them at times. Claire put the phone down and went upstairs to get changed. She never was the person to get up on the latest fashions; just anything that kept her comfortable was fine with her.

Afterwards, she got out of the house, waved goodbye to her father. And right as if it was on cue Angela came with her car and waved. Claire jumped in the front seat with her and buckled herself up.

"It's still cloudy isn't it?" Angela pointed up to the sky. Claire hadn't noticed, she raised her head and saw grey clouds threatening to pour rain.

"Yea…"

"Good thing it's an indoor mall or else we might get soaked!" The brunette drove away down the road. The mall was close but overall it wasn't the most popular place to go to. Citizens were a little old fashioned and only went shopping when necessary. To tourists it was very popular but the town didn't get much tourists.

Claire was in a daze when the brunette parked. "Alright, Molly and the others are at the food court. There's a surprise as well waiting for us!" The blonde wasn't very fond with surprises but nonetheless she got out of the car along with Angela and walked inside.

As soon as they reached the food court Claire was tackled hugged by Molly. "CLAIRE. THIS IS GONNA KNOCK YOU'RE SOCKS OFF,"

"Can you keep your voice a bit low please Molly? I swear I'm going to become deaf!" Claire complained pushing the over-excited brunette away. The girl nodded and took to blonde's hand and dragged her to a table where a lot of familiar faces were sitting. One face shocked her the most.

"Holy crap…" Claire said her blue eyes widening. Molly's smile turned into a million- watt grin that showed her white teeth. Jill smiled contently, Anita was still in a daze not even noticing everyone around her, and the one familiar face waved a tiny wave.

"Chelsea! I thought you moved!" Claire exclaimed pointing at the red head. Chelsea giggled.

"I did, it's spring break where I live and my parents let me visit you guys,"

"Lucky…mine's next week…" There was a silence between the group.

"Sooo~" Molly started giving a Cheshire cat grin to the red head, "do you have a boyfriend?" Angela and Claire grumbled at the girl's question. Anita yet still in a daze and Jill was slightly interested in the question. Chelsea's face flushed a deep shade of red.

"W-Well…n-no but…"

"Crush?"

"Y-yea…" the red head looked slightly uncomfortable with the situation. The loud mouthed girl smile got even bigger; Claire didn't know how that was possible.

"What's his name? Tell me, he probably lives like a hundred miles away,"

"I'd rather not go into detail." Chelsea waved her hands in front of her for defense. Molly frowned at this situation.

"Come on-"

"Why don't we all go shopping and forget about this?" Angela suggested rising from her chair. Chelsea couldn't agree more and walked beside the brunette. Molly grumbled in defeat. Claire shifted her blue eyes towards Anita who had sort of a dreamy look plastered on her face. The blonde waved her hand in front of the girl's face. Anita shook her head violently and shifted her violet eyes towards Claire.

"Whoa how long was I like this?" She asked giggling at herself.

"Ever since I got here?"

"When?"

"Like, five minutes ago? We're going shopping now…"

"Ah! Coming!" Anita bolted out of her seat and ran to join the group, Claire joined as well.

Claire didn't like shopping, as mentioned before. She usually sat on one of the chairs and waited for her friends to try on their clothes. After her friends were satisfied with their findings they purchased the items and left the store.

When walking to another Chelsea suddenly exclaimed, "BANDANA BUDDY!"

Claire stopped in her tracks just to see who Chelsea's 'bandana buddy' was. Couldn't Claire's day be even more surprising?

"Kai? I thought you were on vacation!" the blonde exclaimed placing both hands on her hips. The boy was still in a bone crushing hug by Chelsea and Kai was surprised himself.

"My flight was canceled due to the rainstorms. They said the rain would stop somewhere this week…" Kai exclaimed pushing Chelsea gently off him. The group immediately understood since it looked like it was going to be a storm.

"And you! How did you get here?" Kai added looking straight at the red head.

"By car…"

"I see,"

This six continued their merry way down the mall. Yet during this time Claire felt uneasy. She began to realize how silly her visits to Trent were irrelevant for some unknown reason. She was just faking her injuries except for the time she broke her leg.

Love made her do silly things. Was she really in love with the Doctor? It was all confusing to her. She'd never had this feeling before and here she was acting like a helpless romantic and trying to win the Doctor's heart.

How old was he? Claire guessed mid-twenties. But age didn't matter in love, right? How was she going to confront him now? She can't just go up to him and say 'I love you' and then they lived happily ever after. That seemed impossible.

She was terribly confused. The blonde was lost in thought with a heavy expression on her pale face; her eyes gleamed with thought, until she saw a hand wave in front of her face.

"Earth to Claire! I've been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes or something! What is up with today, geez?" Sometimes she hated Molly. No, a lot of the times she hated her. She sighed in desperation.

"You wouldn't really understand,"

"Come on~ I can totally understand~" Molly sang. Angela wanted to face-palm on how dense her sister was being. Claire let out a heavy sigh again and opened her mouth to speak, until thunder rang out in the air.

"Now I am glad I didn't get on that plane." Kai laughed rubbing the back of his head. Claire frowned at the weather; her father must still be working. Over the few days her father was quiet. It seemed odd to her. But she did know what it was like to live without some one you loved, her mother.

Her mother died mysteriously on a rainy day and it haunted her mind ever since.

"Claire, you have to stop drifting off to space. You're acting like Anita now." Angela stated patting Claire on the shoulder.

"I got to go guys, my parents might be worried about me," Chelsea announced waving to her friends. The five gave their goodbyes to the red head as she entered the pouring rain.

Well there you have it, April showers bring May flowers.

"We should go as well." The older brunette suggested not wanting to stay at the crowded mall. As they went away they asked if Kai needed a ride but the tanned boy said he already had a ride.

* * *

><p>The car ride was unusually silent, that was uncomfortable for the blonde farmer. Usually, Molly would be causing a racket with Angela telling her to quiet down. Anita was always the silent one.<p>

Once they stopped at the blonde's farm, the elder brunette stopped her. "What is it?" Claire asked, curiously.

"I kind of…remembered something. But right now it kind of seems…like a bad time right now." Angela explained her brown eyes losing their usual shine.

Claire cocked her head to the side in confusion. Molly, for the first time in what seemed like months, had a sullen expression. Even Anita got out from her daze, curious as well.

"Remember…Tina?" Claire's heart dropped. Everything kept rushing into her mind. Tina was the up-beat one and she was almost like Molly. She was a strange one yet loved by a lot of people and looked up upon. The brunette, Tina, was there for all of her friends in need, especially for Claire when her mother died.

Until one day she went on vacation and never came back. Searchers soon found her body and pronounced her head from a car crash. Along with her parents who had lost their lives as well.

Now Claire knew why Angela brought it up. Today is when they found out that she was dead. The blonde bit her lip.

"I…should really go,"

"I understand. See you at school."

"Yea…Bye." Claire closed the car door and ran back into her house to not get drenched by the storm. She breathed heavily from running in the thick mud trail leading toward her house.

Seeing Chelsea and Kai were nice but that thought of her poor friend that died years ago still depressing her. She felt like her mind was going to explode from thought and memories.

To get rid of her thoughts, she decided to take a hot shower and then watch television.

* * *

><p>Claire calmly trudged down the staircase, rubbing her long blonde locks with a towel in attempt to dry it. She stopped her actions when the house phone rang. She threw the towel to the ground and bolted to the nearest phone set.<p>

"Hello?"

"Ah Claire, good to see you're still awake."

"Hello father! Awake? What time is it?" She asked not keeping track of time.

"It's nine, dear. But it's Saturday so no worries." Claire chuckled at herself usually when it rained she would always get sleepy.

"So what's the haps?"

"I'm working late tonight; I'll be back at around midnight. I expect to see asleep when I get back." Her father reminded her.

"I will, Dad. I just need to finish some homework."

"Alright. Good night."

"Good night" Claire said and then ended the call.

The next morning Claire expected her father to be leaning on a wooden chair reading the newspaper, and drinking a cup of coffee.

There was no sign of him. She instantly thought that he was probably doing farm work. She quickly grabbed her jacket and ran outdoors to see more clouds threatening to bring even more rain. She ran inside the barn only to find sheep and cows eating on leftover fodder.

"Okay then…Chicken coop."

She exited the barn, locking it, and then yet to find that her father wasn't there. He was always awake at six in the morning or even earlier.

Panic rose inside her. She bolted back to the house and dialed her father's cell almost in the speed of light.

She became even more concerned when a few rings were heard. No answer.

"No worries…he probably just had to go to work early and had a meeting that allowed no cell phones…" Claire assured herself taking a few deep breathes.

She waited all day for her father to come back home. He usually came back at eight at night but sometimes had to work late. "Maybe…he's just working late and forgot to tell me."

She didn't know she was wrong.

* * *

><p>Monday rolled along and still no sign of her father. She was definitely scared now. Her friends came in for their usual carpool. The blonde had bags under her blue eyes and her friends stared at her for the longest time.<p>

"What?"

"What is up with you? Studying too much?" Molly asked her brown eyes wide.

"No…I don't want to talk about it." The girls understood and went on their way to school. As the blonde walked down the hallways tiredly, she could feel eyes staring at her. Her mind was filled with worry and concern she didn't realize she bumped into someone.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I-I-"

"N-no it's okay…" Claire opened her eyes to find Cliff. She always bumped into this kid. She helped him up with her hand and gave a weak smile.

"You look-"

"Weird, I know, I just didn't get enough sleep lately…" Slightly true, not enough sleep counted for last night.

"No you just look…worried." Did this kid read her mind or what? The blonde bit the insides of her cheeks.

"N-no…I don't," She lied, shifting her eyes toward the tiled ground. Cliff tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Maybe I should take you to the nurse…Just in case…" Before she could even protest she was led to the place where she dreaded to go.

* * *

><p>Claire sighed in defeat when she was sitting on the bed. She didn't want to talk, she just wanted to know what happened to her father. Besides, she did have her grandfather. But she didn't want to move all the way to Mineral town which was thousands of miles away.<p>

"Claire?"

She raised her head to see a familiar face. "Oh, hello…"

"What happened to you?" how much she hated those words right now…

There was Trent, staring right at her with full concern. She felt like he day Tina had and her mother died, in the same year that is.

"I-It's just…" She started shifting her blue eyes away from him, "I can't find my father anywhere these past few days…"

Trent was taken aback a bit. He was expecting something different. He opened his mouth to say something but the bell rang for first period. "You should get to class."

"I guess."

"Everything will alright. Don't worry about, alright?" Claire rolled her eyes at his statement. Everyone said that to make their friends feel better.

After the door closed, Trent regretted his words, wishing he said something better. He had a new worry now, and he was worried for not only her father but for herself. Here she was, going about and hurting herself. Now she was hurt, mentally.

He couldn't keep his eyes off the door.

* * *

><p>The math test was aggravating to her. She almost fell asleep at one point. When she was finished she handed in to her algebra teacher and was about to go back to her seat until he stopped her. She raised her head curiously and walked closer to him.<p>

"What is it?" She whispered, hoping she wasn't in trouble for almost sleeping.

"There's a call for you in the office. I suggest you go."

Panic grew inside Claire.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well one more chapter and then the epilouge. Then it's over. So a filler :D Just what happened to Claire's father? We'll find out in the next chapter, which I hope will be out soon since This is my last week of school until winter break. So just in case, MERRY CHRISTMAS OR WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU CELEBRATE.**


	4. Saying Goodbye

Claire bit her nails as she was walking down the empty hallway of her school. It was overwhelming to her, she had the biggest idea that it was about her father. What happened to him? Was he hurt? Sick? Her brain was hurting from all of her questions.

When she found herself in front of the office door, she frowned. The moment of truth was going to come to her and slap her across the face. Hoping it was something else; like that one time where she stuffed napkins in Molly's throat and she hoped she caught in trouble for, she opened the door slowly and poked her head in.

"Claire, take a seat." A deep voice said, motioning his hand to an empty seat. She nodded and fully walked in, closing the door behind her. When she sat down a phone was handed to her. She stared at it, wide eyed. The truth was in that phone. Well not exactly _in_ but on the other side. She shifted her eyes to the principal. Either way, she gently took the phone and placed against her ear.

"Hello?" She said quietly at first. She could already feel herself trembling in her seat. _"Is this Claire Hawthorne? Daughter of Mark Hawthorne?"_

She knew it. She knew it had something to do with her father. Her heart pumped faster than ever, the palms of her hands were slowly getting moist by the minute. "Y-yes, this is Claire Hawthorne…" She felt weird saying her full name.

"_Ah, this is Harvest Health Hospital*, we called to talk about your father's condition." _That's when Claire felt a panic attack coming on; she could not bear to hear this over the phone.

"Um, if you don't mind…"

"_Yes?"_

"Is it okay if I come over there instead? I can't bear to hear this over the phone." Claire said quietly, twirling the phone cord around her finger. There was silence on the other end of the phone, probably asking someone if she could come despite her father's condition.

"_Y-yes that is fine, come as soon as possible."_ Claire gave a quiet thank you and hung up. Before she was able to get out of her seat the principal gave a meaningful look that stopped the girl. "I suppose you don't have a ride." He said looking directly at Claire.

He was right, school was still in session, her father was at the hospital for god knows why, and her only close relative was all the way in Mineral town. "N-no I don't." She stammered shifting her blue eyes around the office. The principal made a small grunt noise and grabbed the phone, calling someone. She didn't know who he was going to call, hopefully not a complete stranger.

"Ah, Dr. Trent."

Oh, the irony.

"One of our students needs to go to the hospital for a personal reason, do you mind taking her?" He asked, resting his head on his hand. Soft mumbles could be heard from the other line.

"No, I know you're not a paramedic. It's a different reason, her father is possibly injured." He explained, slightly twirling his chair. Even though Claire couldn't see it, she could definitely tell what Trent was thinking. She heard nothing from the other line for at least a few seconds; it worried her and somehow made her feel like a burden. Trent was probably thinking it was an excuse to get out of school this time. Then she heard a slight answer.

"Great, meet us in my office as soon as possible." He then hung up. Claire was then nervous. Her crush was going to take her to the hospital and her father is perhaps on the verge of dying, just great. After a few minutes the door opened revealing none other than Dr. Trent. Claire turned her head around to see dark brown eyes staring at her. She quickly turned her head away to hide her blush forming on her cheeks.

"Claire, you are dismissed." The blonde gave a quiet thank you and left with Trent. She was silent when walking down the empty hallway. This made both of them uncomfortable.

"I somehow knew your father was in trouble." He started, Claire didn't raise her head but she was listening.

"I was there on that day." This made the girl's eyes widened and hoping he had answers. Her face asked one question _'What happened?'_

"I was running errands. It was any normal day, I was driving to get a few things and I saw a terrible accident." He stopped there when the two realized they were in his car.

"Then what?" she asked, still having a worried expression plastered on her face. He shook his head slowly and faced the outdoors in front of him. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Please, I-I have to know. H-he's my father!" Well a bad reason, but seemed believable. Trent bit his lip, and turned his to her and met her bright blue eyes. He couldn't say it in front of her delicate face, it would just pain her. He shifted his head back and sighed deeply.

"He got into a terrible car accident." He paused; he could feel Claire's eyes forming the smallest of tears.

"I tried saving him and doing everything I can until paramedics arrived. I don't know about his current condition right now." Claire moved her head to find Dr. Trent in a sullen expression. He tried to save him? She felt proud of him for at least trying to save him but depressed and anxious on how her father is doing. He started the car and drove at medium speed to the hospital. There was silence in the car and the girl looked out her window to hide her flushed, teary face.

'_This can't be happening to me…'_ she thought, _'This has to be a dream.'_

Oh how she wished this was just a dream. She wanted to wake up, hug her father like there wasn't going to be a tomorrow and live her daily life like any normal person did. She pinched herself, no this was reality. A terrible reality that she was cursed to live in. First her mother, then Tina, and now her father? How can thinks get any worse?

The car parked in an empty spot and stopped near the Main Entrance. When they got inside, there weren't a lot of people, just doctors and nurses walking down the hallways until they got to the Customer service. The soon knew her father stayed at Room 14B and went to the correct floor.

At this point, she didn't know if she could handle it. The door was right there and now she had to face what was on the other side. She bit her lip and reluctantly opened the door, only to reveal her father connected to machines and tubes. "F-father?" She choked out. The heart monitor made slow beats every second. She ran to his side and clutched onto the railing of the bed.

Tears rapidly fell down off her cheeks and landed on her hands. Her body shook like an earthquake; her hands trembled against the railing, her throat was tightening, how dearly she wished it was a dream.

Dr. Trent closed the door and watched with again a sullen look. He hated Claire this way, crying her poor eyes out when she could be giggling like a maniac in his office, trembling with fear when she could be hurting herself carelessly. She was depressed when she could be the happiest teenage girl alive. His eyes widened on what he was thinking, why was he so worried about her?

He walked closer to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. This stopped Claire and slightly moved her head to see him gazing at her father.

Several minutes passed and Claire managed to calm down and wipe away her tears. She was relieved that her father was breathing but one part of her wanted him to be like his old self. Then something hit her, she was going to be staying at her home alone. She did that earlier this week and managed to get through it but now, it didn't feel the same. She had to look over the farm, alone. She could do that.

One thing shot her. What if her father died? She would be an orphan and then…she would have to move away to Mineral town. Forget about her dreams, she wanted to be a farmer anyway so this was no problem, leave her present life and make a new one and live with her grandfather.

She sat with her father, petting his head for an hour and muttering things under her breath. She didn't realize a nurse came in to tell her visiting hours were up and she had to leave. Trent tapped her shoulder, signaling to go. She placed a kiss on her father's forehead and walked away with Trent, turning her head to her father almost every second, not wanting leave.

* * *

><p>The car ride to her home was silent; it was almost like she was the queen in being in the most silent places. Pastures, buildings passed from her view and the farther away she was getting from her father. The hospital mentioned that they would call her, home phone, if anything came up or if he was ready to be released.<p>

Her eyes were raw from crying and were red, her nose was runny and she was embarrassed to sniffle loudly, her face was a bright red, and she felt like the goddess wasn't on her side. Yes, her father was alive, but there was a sickening feeling that he was going to die. She appreciated Trent for being there and calming her down, and trying to save her father. She owed him; if someone did something good to her she owed them.

When the car stopped she hugged him quickly and said a quick goodbye, and then left. Trent found this surprising, he didn't expect for the girl to embrace him at all.

He found himself that he wished he hugged her to.

* * *

><p>*A few weeks passed and Claire finally received a phone call from the hospital. Her father had passed in the middle of May. She didn't appear at school for days and her friends were getting worried about her.<p>

"I don't see what's going on. Should we visit her?"

"Well that's what friends do, helping their friends."

"First getting herself hurt all the time and now not going to school and-….oh _shit_." The four girls turned to Molly at her last phrase. It was common for the brunette to curse but like this, it seemed horrible.

"What is it Molly?" Angela asked worriedly.

"Do you think that she might be…committing sui- CRAP! ANGELA DRIVE FASTER WOMAN! DDRRIIVVVEEE!" Molly screeched and literally screaming in Angela's ear.

"I'm driving Molly! Sheesh!"

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Jill muttered, grabbing her aching head.

* * *

><p>Claire called her grandfather, preparing to move. She was able to put the farm on the market and surprisingly it got sold rather quickly. She packed her belongings and the things that meant a great value to her like pictures, books, anything. Her house was filled with packed boxes that were ready to go to Mineral town. She stopped her education, and she didn't bother to say goodbye to anybody. She was leaving tomorrow. That's for sure.<p>

She sold her animals, her farm, and left furniture for the people that were going to live here. She jumped in surprise when the door slammed open.

"CCLLAIIIRREE!" A voice screeched, most likely belonging to Molly. The blonde turned around to see her friends shocked at the scene.

"Claire? What's going on?" Jill asked rushing over to her friend.

"I'm…moving." Her friends gasped and frowned. Molly grabbed a box and opened it. "Molly what are you doing?" Angela asked, annoyed, placing both hands on her hips.

"Un-packing. She is not moving." Claire grabbed the box and placed it where it once was. Her friends frowned at the situation.

"Why are you doing this? You've been acting so weird lately! I'm worried about you!" Jill explained grabbing the blonde's shoulders. Claire's eyes were dull. She explained everything to her friends, leaving out the Trent part, and covered her eyes to prevent tears to be shown. Her friends understood but had depressed looks, knowing that their friend was indeed moving away, far away from here.

She was going to start a new life and the rest of her friends sat in the living room and talked about their memories as children. They already exchanged contact information long ago; all that was needed was her new address. The way of contact was snail mail; her grandfather said that internet was not popular there. Time seemed to fly by fast and the girls all found out that it was ten at night. They gave Claire long hugs and crying could be heard, she found herself crying like a baby. Why did things have to turn for the worse?

She watched her friends wave goodbye from their car and slowly leaving, and soon disappeared.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Claire called Kai and told him everything about her father. He seemed relieved by some parts since he did visit Mineral town in the summer, she found herself happy with this situation. When she finished putting the last boxes in the moving truck she saw a figure standing near the door to her house.<p>

"Dr. Trent?"

He turned his head to the girl. "I heard you're moving."

"Yea…" She felt awkward from last time. She found her cheeks becoming warm, and found herself thinking _'why now?'_

"Why did you visit me anyway?" She asked, hiding her head away. Trent rubbed the back of his head.

"Everyone is going to miss you." He started, "Including me." Claire whipped her head to face the doctor. Her face got increasingly redder.

"W-What?"

"I know after you broke your leg you faked your visits, correct?" He knew? Claire thought her face couldn't get redder than it is right now. She nodded slowly and whipped her head back where it was looking at the empty fields that used to be so prosperous. She underestimated that the doctor was smart enough to know she was faking her incidents.

Trent chuckled lightly and smiled. She could be so stubborn and yet cute at the same time. Before he could say anything, she beat him to it. "I-I liked you okay?" after a matter of seconds she realized what she had done and quickly covered her mouth. She felt mortified now and couldn't face him. Trent was taken aback for a few moments.

"I-I'm sorry, I should be going…"

"Claire, wait." Claire stopped midway from the stairs leading to her porch. Her back was still turned to him. In a matter of seconds she felt warm arms wrapped around her. She began to feel that her face might explode. She turned around and returned his hug.

"T-Thank you…for everything…" she said quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. She couldn't hear Trent because of the truck blasting its horn. She hated that truck driver with a apssion now. How she wished she could have heard what he said. She gently got out of his hug and bowed at respect. She slowly walked towards the moving truck. She stole one last look at her favorite doctor that she might never see again. She could see him smiling and giving a small wave. She felt warm and fuzzy inside and found herself smiling as well. When she buckled herself in, she saw trent still standing on the porch, continuing to wave. She felt tears forming in her eyes and watched as his figure slowly disappeared into the horizon.

Maybe, just maybe she might see him again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ugh, this chapter was rushed. Like super rushed. I made up the hospital name and the second * was really rushed. God, I wish I could have made this better. Anyway Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, whatever you celebrate~ This is your gift.**

**This is the last chapter and next is the epilogue. The epilogue is short and sweet. So expect and epilogue hopefully next week~ Or possibly sooner? I don't know. **

**I'm not happy with this chapter but I hope you enjoy it? Until then, **

**Read and Review~ It will make my Christmas wonderful**~


	5. Chickens and Festivals

**A/N: So I checked my traffic stats for the first time. You should have seen my face. **

**Me: o_O Mother of God…**

**I know I'm not popular but I was happy with the amount of hits this story got :'D**

**OVER 380 HITS FOR THIS STORY HOLY SHIT. **

**/shot**

**Anyway, this is the epilogue. It's pretty short. This story shall finally be over. I ACTUALLY FINISHED SOMETHING, YES! **

**Oh yea, did you enjoy your Christmas/Hanukkah/Whatever holiday you celebrated? I sure did~! I GOT MY HETALIA WOOO~**

…**Oh, I should be saying that on my Hetalia FFs…lol. **

**Anyway…enjoy!**

Years have passed for the blonde. For years she was under training by her grandfather, meeting new neighbors, and running numerous errands. Over the days she became homesick from her original home. Her old friends such as Cliff and Kai moved here which gave the blonde a little bit of old company. But she still had an empty feeling inside her stomach.

She received tons of letters from her friends and some trinkets. She took her time to write back, sometimes sending something back to them. Molly had her atrocious writing skills that bothered Claire all the time and usually had trouble writing back to her.

One spring day, she went out to her farm fields that she now owned. A few years back her grandfather died of an old age. She began to realize how much her life pained her. All at once it was like life threw rocks at her. She sighed heavily and tended her crops under the bright sun.

The chickens were always a pain to her. She would get pecked at or get caught in one of their fights at times for food. They were minor scratches and she could easily take care of them, but it came to the time where she had to buy more ointment to cure the scratches.

After her little fight with the chickens she took care the rest of her work and went off into town. She didn't care what her attire displayed to the town, the villagers were used to torn up, damaged overalls. She reached to the clinic and tiredly went up to the counter.

"I sense that the chickens caused you some trouble again…" the nurse behind the counter sighed. Claire nodded sheepishly. Ellie, the nurse bit her lip and went to the far side of the room to get the usual item that the farmer needed. Claire rested her head upon her arms against the counter, waiting patiently. Ellie soon came back with a small bag.

"I suggest you ask Rick or Popuri for some help, they do know a lot of animals, especially chickens in general."

"I know it's just that Rick scolds me all the time and Popuri is a ditz almost all the time…" Claire explained accepting the bag Ellie gave her. The nurse 'tsk-ed' and gave the farmer a look.

"What?" Ellie held out a hand in front of her, asking for a payment.

"Right, right… the money" Claire searched in her pockets for some money and grabbed what seemed like an appropriate amount, and then placed it on the counter.

"Alright, I expect you to come here for a good reason next time. No more getting into those chicken quarrels alright?" Ellie explained dropping the money into the cash register. The farmer nodded and went out her way to the rest of the day. Right when she was about to exit the door opened to reveal a man with a big box of items.

"Ellie we got the new shipment." Announced a man with slightly tossled dark hair.

"Wonderful! I was wondering when they'll come in." The man placed the box on the counter, leaving a curious nurse opening the box gently. Claire turned her head back to the counter staring at the doctor.

She squinted her eyes. The man was tall, short black hair, lightly skin toned, and had a familiar voice. _'Could that be…? No it can't…' _she thought. The blonde slowly left the clinic, stealing a glance or two at the doctor who was helping the nurse place the shipments in their rightful places.

* * *

><p><strong>HI MY NAME IS LINE BREAK, APPARENTLY LINE BREAKS ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW.<strong>

_Dear Claire,_

_It's been awhile since I've written to you. You haven't written to any of us in awhile. Well, anyway, I just wanted to give you some updates._

_Molly has found someone, who seems like a fortune telling person. He calls himself 'Wizard', it's weird. I don't know how she loves him but anyway, she's trying to get him. _

_Jill was in a relationship with Rock, but of course being the jerk he is he cheated on her with Lumina. What a bastard… Now she says she keeps seeing this thief around town. Now she's staying up late every night waiting for this 'thief'. I worry about her these days…_

_Anita continues to be in a daze as usual. She's now stalking our old Algebra teacher, she's really creepy._

_As for me, I'm the only married one. It's awkward because I don't want to boast about my marriage with the mayor's son of Castanet. Yes, I married that spoiled rich kid in our school, he's actually…nice. _

_I don't know about Chelsea, all I heard from her was that she was traveling the world with a certain animal trader. _

_As for all of us, we want to hear from you. We're all worried about you and some of us are thinking about going to where you are and check up on you._

_Anyway, write back when you have the chance._

_Love,_

_Angela River._

Claire read the short letter in her hands, she was happy everyone found someone. She felt out of place in the circle of her friends. She couldn't help but feel a little envious. She decided she'll write after her farm work.

She stepped out of her house under the grueling, now summer sun. It was morning and she was already sweating from the heat. She began her work such as tending her crops and feeding her animals.

Her bills over the months became a bit pricey; she took this as planting more crops and buying more animals. After all of her work she was exhausted. She decided on going to the snack shop her friend, Kai, owned since she thought of herself as a horrible cook.

On her way she complained how long of a walk it was to get there. She literally thanked the heavens when she spotted the tan boy sitting on a bench, enjoying the sun. Claire walked up to him and created a shadow over the boy. Kai, noticing how shady it had become, opened his eyes and almost jumped when he saw the girl.

"Whoa! Oh thank goodness, it's just Claire…"

"Yes, it's just me." Claire almost slurred.

"Man, you look beat up…" Kai mentioned, stroking his imaginary beard. The farmer felt nauseas at this point and queasy to her stomach. She made a noise in the back of her throat and blacked out, collapsing to the sand.

"Claire?" Kai asked, immediately crouching to her side. He shook her body gently, trying to wake her up. He said her names a couple of times, but it came to the point where he finally registered in his mind that she fainted.

"Crap! Here comes another patient for Doctor Trent!"

**LINE BREAK YAY!~**

Life seemed peaceful for the doctor here in Mineral town. He was glad choosing this place, hoping for a new life. He enjoyed having small medical problems the citizens had, easily diagnosing them. They were better in no time.

Trent whirled himself around in his chair, whistling a catchy tune to make time pass by. At times, life was a little boring for him. Sure the town had festivals every now and then, but on days like this, the clinic had no customers.

He was proved wrong when he heard the door slam open revealing a tanned boy holding a familiar blonde farmer in his hands. Ellie rushed to the scene and took care of bringing the girl over to a bed.

"What happened?"

"She just suddenly blacked out…" Kai explained crossing his arms against his chest. Trent got up from his chair and walked closer to the two.

"Ah, Dr. Trent, another over-worked patient."

"I see…" The doctor murmured taking notes in his head about the patient. The girl's face was flushed with slight tones of green, her blonde hair wet and particles of sand could be seen.

"She just needs some rest, she'll stay here for the night." He explained to the tanned boy, listening intently on his words.

"Okay, is there anything else I can do?"

"No, but I do suggest getting back to work. You can visit later." Kai nodded and took a last glance at Claire before leaving, Ellie left as well, but going to her remaining spot behind the counter. For Trent, he sat down by the girl's side, staring at the girl before him.

Hours past and Trent never left his spot on the chair, leaving a worried nurse confused. The clinic soon closed at its usual hour and the lights were still on. Ellie bit her lip and came in the room.

"Doctor…you should really get some rest…" Ellie said quietly, giving a concerned look.

"I know, it's just…this girl seems extremely familiar…"

"She is our new farmer. Well, you can't exactly call her new anymore since she has been here for a couple of years." Ellie explained taking a seat next to the doctor. Trent nodded slightly and continued to stare at the girl.

Ellie sat with him until she woke up.

**YET ANOTHER LINE BREAK**

Ever since that day, and after she woke up, she came into the clinic everyday. Ellie continued to tell her to ask Rick for help on chickens, but the wounds looked fake. The blonde would always end up talking to Trent and soon they found themselves familiar of each other.

"So, you're Claire Hawthorne…"

"And you're Doctor Trent…Did you follow me here?" Claire asked, adding a small giggle. A light blush crept up his cheeks.

" 'Course not, I didn't know you would live here."

"Neither did I. I thought you would still work for the school." Claire said, placing both hands on her hips.

"They fired me." Claire's eyes struck with interest.

"How?"

Trent bit the insides of his cheeks. "None of your business."

"Come ooonnnn, tell me~" Claire said in a sing-song voice.

"No, you should get back to work." Claire pouted at the doctor's remark. She left without another word, but inside her head she was only making more excuses by the minute

**HELLO, IM LINE BREAK. HAVE A NICE DAY.**

Days and months passed and Claire kept her visits daily to the clinic, Ellie becoming annoyed and Trent only being amused by the numerous excuses. One day, she entered the clinic and went straight up the Trent's face.

"You're coming with me to the Starry Night Festival whether you like it or not." She said, looking straight into his eyes.

Trent chuckled, and lightly poked her cheek. "You still owe me." He said.

"For what?" She asked, confused of course. Trent gave a light chuckle again and patted her back.

"I'll tell you at the festival, I'll be at your house at seven." Trent left where she was standing and went back to his office, leaving a confused farmer.

The Starry night festival came, Trent and Claire ate peacefully in front of the fire.

"You said I still owed you something." Claire mentioned taking the last bite of her dinner that Trent cooked. The doctor placed his plate on the ground and shifted eyes to the blonde.

"One, the numerous excuses you keep making." Trent started, Claire giggled nervously yet sheepishly. "And two…remember when you were moving?" Claire nodded.

"The truck driver's horn muted my words."

"Oh yea, what did you say?" Claire asked, her face becoming the lightest shade of pink. Trent smiled and moved a little closer to her. He wrapped an arm around her neck and still looked at her in the eye.

"I said I loved you. The school fired me because they thought I loved a student. Oh how they literally spied on me." Trent confessed, smiling. Claire blushed and shifted her blue eyes away.

"T-then how did you know I moved here?" She continued to ask, her face as bright as a ripe tomato.

"Coincidence." Claire gave a 'Psh" sound and turned her eyes back to him. Trent continued to look at her, expecting an answer.

"Well…I did make those excuses because I wanted to see you everyday…" She said quietly, playing with her thumbs nervously.

"So you did love me…"

"Of course I did! And I still do! I don't know how but-" Claire stopped when two hands were placed on both of her cheeks and lips connected with his. Her eyes were wide and still shocked by the sudden action. After a few seconds with arguing inside her head, she flung her arms around his neck and closed her eyes.

She broke the kiss off when she heard a light moo from the barn. "Oh shut up, Spot!" She shouted. She got up from her place on the floor and headed for the door. "Uhh…Spot is my cow, I haven't fed her yet." She then closed the door behind her, leaving Trent chuckling.

He dug his hand in his pocket feeling a feathery object in his hand.

"Maybe another time, now seems too soon." He said to himself, but still had that genuine smile he always had.

_Maybe some day…_

**A/N: Rushed ending is rushed. Everyone, I thank you for everything. Literally, I love you guys. Thanks for all the reviews and favorites and story alerts. You couldn't have made me happier! Hopefully I'll write for Harvest Moon again~**

**Until then, See you then!**


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